When it comes to sexual abuse and misconduct in the priesthood, every Catholic must be sick of hearing the same story over and over again: a cleric is credibly accused, but his superiors treat him with kid gloves because they want to avoid scandal, or because he is an ally or favourite, or because they themselves are compromised in some way. I am certainly exasperated with hearing of the same failings repeatedly. A couple of months ago I was reading a report by the Independent Inquiry Into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) that laid out how the monks who at one time ran Downside School failed time after time to prevent abusers from re-offending. It made me so angry that I had to put it aside to calm down more than once.
And now the same failing has occurred all the way at the top of the Church. Earlier this month, the Argentinian bishop Gustavo Zanchetta – a friend of Pope Francis – was convicted of the sexual assault of seminarians, and sentenced to four and a half years in prison. The allegations first emerged soon after Zanchetta’s appointment in 2013, but he remained in post until 2017, with Francis seemingly siding with him even after explicit photos were discovered on the bishop’s phone. When he did finally resign, he was given a job in Rome, a post with significant financial responsibilities, and was re-appointed to this role in 2020 while both a criminal investigation in Argentina and a canonical investigation were still ongoing. The results of the canonical investigation have not yet been made public.
Of course the principle of innocent until proven guilty is a very important one. But the Church’s record of complacency and cover-up is so long and inglorious now that we surely ought to proceed on the Caesar’s wife principle, i.e. that we must be above suspicion in all our dealings (the idiom comes from Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar). Where there is a credible accusation, and certainly where there is an ongoing civil criminal investigation, surely the accused person must step aside from their office for the duration.
The wider point, perhaps, is that there are very few “heroes” in the Church as far as the abuse crisis is concerned. Each of the last three Popes has failed in some respects in this area – just last month Benedict XVI acknowledged the mistakes he had made when he was archbishop. Perpetrators and those who minimised offences or did not take appropriate action to remove abusers came from every wing of the church. Clerics known as fierce conservatives, like the Scottish Keith O’Brien, and as liberals, like America’s Theodore McCarrick, have been exposed as sexual predators, though neither of these were involved with minors.
It will not do, then, to simply castigate our opponents within the Church. There is no magical formula of orthodox belief or correct liturgical practice which will guarantee personal holiness and integrity. Even men who appeared to be spiritual giants, like Jean Vanier, pioneer of the groundbreaking L’Arche communities for people with disabilities, have been shown to be abusers.
Part of the answer, of course, is improved legal procedures within the Church, as well as a better understanding of safeguarding and the need for transparency. But there is also a more spiritual dimension; we need humility. The poet TS Eliot wrote in Little Gidding that “The only wisdom we can hope to acquire / Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless”. That virtue stops us from becoming puffed up with our own strength, and encourages us to be aware of our weaknesses and temptations. It ought to stop us from thinking that we should sacrifice the interests of abuse victims in favour of upholding the reputation or position of the Church, or our tribe. We cannot serve the truth by dishonesty.
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.